Generally considered to be one of the more widely liked, although not heavily purchased silver bullion coins, the Somali Elephant debuted in 2004. Originally launching in 1999 and issued for Zambia, the change of issuing state saw a new injection of life into the series that’s ultimately led to it’s wide acceptance today, despite coming from what by any standards is a very troubled country.

Minted in Munich, Germany at the Bavarian State Mint (Bayerische Hauptmünzamt), over the last couple of years the coin has made the transition from a very low numbers, to one of a six-figure mintage. To celebrate twelve years of issue, the coins commissioner Emporium Hamburg, has issued a beautiful and very limited one-kilo coin made from thirteen interlocking pieces, effectively a puzzle coin. There have been a few other examples of officially issued puzzle coins, most recently a fine piece from the Singapore Mint with a lunar theme, but this is the first time we can remember a bullion coin being featured this way.

Each of the surrounding twelve puzzle pieces depicts a section of the design used for every one of the annual releases from 2004 to 2015. The central disc features a striking image of an aggressive bull elephant. As with the bullion coins, the obverse of each piece bears the armorial achievement of Somalia – a horizontally striped shield bearing a single star, supported by two leopards rampant. A ribbon wrapped around two crossed spears, as well as two crossed palm fronds, appear below this emblem.

Only 215 will be released and they’re obviously not going to be at bullion prices, It’s currently available from Emporium Hamburg in Germany, although we’ve noticed Gainesville Coins has them in th US for those on the western side of the Atlantic. Both are selling for around 2,500 of the local currency, so exchange rates will have a bearing on who has the best deal. We’ll try to get some better images, but Somali Elephant stuff is quite difficult to get from the mint and we’ve had no luck to date. Shipping in May.

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12TH ANNIVERSARY PUZZLE COIN

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Celebrate the 12th anniversary of the Somali Elephant coin series with this extremely limited edition 2015 Proof Silver Somali Silver Elephant 1 Kilo Puzzle Coin.

REVERSE: The large center of the coin features the new design of a triumphant bull elephant in tall grass, surrounded by the inscription “12th Anniversary African Wildlife Elephant 2004-2015.” Encircling the center are 12 interlocking puzzle pieces of pure silver, each one sporting the dated design of one of the past Somali Elephant coins. The whole ensemble locks together to form a 1 kilo montage of stunning elephant images.

OBVERSE: The obverse of the centre has the Somali coat of arms, and the denomination of 800 Shillings. The reverse of each puzzle piece also carries the Somali coat of arms, and has the face value of 100 shillings. This makes a total of 2000 Shillings total face value.

PRESENTATION: This jubilee coin comes in a custom capsule, housed in a beautiful wooden presentation case with lid.

SPECIFICATION